It's almost June? In 2014? Wasn't it just April 21st, 2013 and I was on my way to a new adventure in St. Augustine, FL?

Well, April 21st, 2013 was only 395 days ago, BUT, those 395 days have gone by FAST.

After learning a TON in 2013, 2014 has already brought incredible experiences. After realizing I haven't written much this year, I figured it was time for a little self-reflection.

While I don't consider it necessary to update the world with what I've been doing (most people don't really care anyways!), I find it beneficial to occasionally look back and reflect on where I've spent my time and how it aligns with my short and long-term goals.

*Plus, I haven't spoken lately with the only three people that read my blog (my mom, my grandma, and some random person in Denmark); I thought they at least might be wondering what I've been up to.....

"A Matter of Motivation" is an article previous published in the APTA magazine PT In Motion back in August of 2013. After reading the article, I took quite a few notes on my Ipad for future reference. Rather than keeping them in my Ipad for only me to see, I decided I'd throw them up on my blog for others to read.

I believe one of the biggest (aka "most important") part of healthcare, or really any profession that deals with people on a daily basis, is having the ability to motivate someone to take action. Rather than going in depth on the neuroscience behind decision making, here are a few main points dealing with motivating others.

*Note- most of these tips are directed towards physical therapists, but can be applied to others professionals.

As physical therapists, personal trainers, coaches, or any profession that's involved with teaching someone a skill or movement, what we say (or don't say) can have a tremendous impact on how quickly a skill or movement is acquired. Not to mention how well that skill or movement can be performed after a time away from the activity (motor learning vs. motor performance!)

An area of focus for me lately, when interacting with my St. Aug Fitness, LLC clients, is doing a better job introducing and teaching various movements in the gym. Each time I introduce a new movement to new client (cognitive stage of motor learning), I am sure to provide visual feedback of them performing the movement by videoing them with my iPad. This technique has definitely improved the ability of my clients to understand how to perform a movement.

My interest in motor learning initially developed from my involvement as a strength coach at Lexington Christian Academy High School during my days as an exercise physiology master's student at Kentucky. I've since gotten away from being very meticulous in my coaching feedback and cues, but was reminded of their importance during a recent motor learning unit course in my doctor of physical therapy curriculum.

After completing the motor learning unit, I decided to create a brief document highlighting the key concepts and takeaways from the motor learning unit. Additionally, I had some notes from two articles on the National Strength and Conditioning Association website written by Nick Winkelman on motor learning/coaching strategies.

Click "read more" to check out the document (you won't see the document if you're viewing this page on "mobile" setting. Scroll to the bottom to choose "web.") -->